Can'thavenuthingood
Member
This is the no compromise outfit now working in New Jersey for microstamping. The bill we just defeated in California.
Say it ain't so Larry.
Vick
http://www.northjersey.com/page.php...UVFeXk2OTk2NTIzJnlyaXJ5N2Y3MTdmN3ZxZWVFRXl5Mg
Etched bullets interest law enforcement
Monday, September 25, 2006
By JASON TSAI
STAFF WRITER
A new, ultra-precise laser technology can engrave the entire alphabet on the tip of a ballpoint pen. It's called microstamping, and it's got the attention of some law enforcement officials, intrigued by its potential use in solving gun crimes.
"This could take ballistics to a whole new level," said New Jersey State Police Capt. Al Della Fave. "Any type of technology that helps law enforcement in terms of identification of a weapon used in a crime is going to be tremendously helpful."
For two years, the California Legislature has considered bills mandating that all new handguns be manufactured with microstamping, through which a weapon's firing pin engraves the serial number, make and model on bullet casings.
Opponents have sent the measure to a narrow defeat the past two legislative sessions, calling the technology costly and ineffective.
"Nothing has shown that mandating microstamping will yield any public safety benefits," said Lawrence Keane, a spokesman for the National Shooting Sports Foundation.
Fast facts
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
How microstamping works:
A laser inscribes the tip of the firing pin with the handgun's serial number, make and model.
Each time the handgun is fired, the firing pin engraves the information on the bullet's shell casing.
Casings found at crime scenes could then be linked, proponents say, to the weapon(s) that fired them.
Source: Todd Lizotte
Keane and other gun industry representatives say the technology is flawed primarily because the microscopic etchings can be easily filed off using common household tools. They also say it could cost up to $150 per firearm.
Proponents, meanwhile, tout the ability to track bullet casings found at crime scenes.
"This is technology that would cost manufacturers from 50 cents to a dollar," said Paul Helmke, president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, countering the cost argument.
What's more, he said, firing pins equipped with microstamping technology are nearly as hard as diamonds. Successfully filing the pin down would prevent the gun from firing, Helmke said.
As the debate continues out West, an informal survey of some law enforcement officials in New Jersey shows they'd be open to considering the technology on new handguns.
"Definitely law enforcement would use it," said Deputy Chief Edward Murphy of the Passaic County Prosecutor's Office.
Some concerns need to be addressed, Murphy said, including the relative ease of replacing a firing pin.
"But we wouldn't be against it," he said. "It's interesting technology."
Michael Mordaga, chief of detectives for the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office, has deeper reservations.
"Would it be enough to say in court that the bullet casings automatically link someone to a crime?" he said. "I'm all for doing anything you can to make criminal investigations smoother, though I can understand some of the arguments against it."
Developed in the 1990s by New Hampshire inventor Todd Lizotte, microstamping was initially used in the medical and computer technology fields to sculpt and etch minute hardware. Microstamping firearms became attractive to gun control advocates around late 2002, when a series of Beltway sniper attacks in Maryland and Washington, D.C. confounded authorities.
"I think the sense was: They could find all this forensic evidence, but why couldn't they identify the gun it came from?" said Joshua Horwitz, executive director of the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, which has teamed with the Brady Campaign to champion microstamping.
Current technology requires forensic scientists to analyze a fired bullet or casing's unique markings -- or ballistics fingerprints -- to link it with a firearm. Much like human fingerprints, the ballistic markings are entered into a national database to be matched with a gun.
Advocates say microstamping handguns would simplify the process: The information on fired shell casings would immediately match guns on existing databases.
New Jersey, considered to have some of the strictest gun laws in the country, is one of the few states that require buyers to obtain a license from law enforcement before purchasing firearms.
"If it goes according to plan, this would work well and make our jobs easier," said Bergen County Sheriff Leo McGuire, whose office has one of the busiest ballistics laboratories in the state.
Microstamping would be particularly advantageous in crimes when the bullet or shell casing is too fragmented, McGuire said.
A large number of gun crimes are committed with stolen guns, which can often lead police "on the wrong path," said Larry Pratt, executive director of the Gun Owners of America. Yet, with microstamping, he said, "at least detectives have a path to follow."
"Any information is better than none," Murphy said. "Is it going to work every single time? I doubt it. But even if it works once, it's worth it."
Copyright © 2006 North Jersey Media Group Inc.
Copyright Infringement Notice User Agreement & Privacy Policy
Print | Close
Say it ain't so Larry.
Vick
http://www.northjersey.com/page.php...UVFeXk2OTk2NTIzJnlyaXJ5N2Y3MTdmN3ZxZWVFRXl5Mg
Etched bullets interest law enforcement
Monday, September 25, 2006
By JASON TSAI
STAFF WRITER
A new, ultra-precise laser technology can engrave the entire alphabet on the tip of a ballpoint pen. It's called microstamping, and it's got the attention of some law enforcement officials, intrigued by its potential use in solving gun crimes.
"This could take ballistics to a whole new level," said New Jersey State Police Capt. Al Della Fave. "Any type of technology that helps law enforcement in terms of identification of a weapon used in a crime is going to be tremendously helpful."
For two years, the California Legislature has considered bills mandating that all new handguns be manufactured with microstamping, through which a weapon's firing pin engraves the serial number, make and model on bullet casings.
Opponents have sent the measure to a narrow defeat the past two legislative sessions, calling the technology costly and ineffective.
"Nothing has shown that mandating microstamping will yield any public safety benefits," said Lawrence Keane, a spokesman for the National Shooting Sports Foundation.
Fast facts
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
How microstamping works:
A laser inscribes the tip of the firing pin with the handgun's serial number, make and model.
Each time the handgun is fired, the firing pin engraves the information on the bullet's shell casing.
Casings found at crime scenes could then be linked, proponents say, to the weapon(s) that fired them.
Source: Todd Lizotte
Keane and other gun industry representatives say the technology is flawed primarily because the microscopic etchings can be easily filed off using common household tools. They also say it could cost up to $150 per firearm.
Proponents, meanwhile, tout the ability to track bullet casings found at crime scenes.
"This is technology that would cost manufacturers from 50 cents to a dollar," said Paul Helmke, president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, countering the cost argument.
What's more, he said, firing pins equipped with microstamping technology are nearly as hard as diamonds. Successfully filing the pin down would prevent the gun from firing, Helmke said.
As the debate continues out West, an informal survey of some law enforcement officials in New Jersey shows they'd be open to considering the technology on new handguns.
"Definitely law enforcement would use it," said Deputy Chief Edward Murphy of the Passaic County Prosecutor's Office.
Some concerns need to be addressed, Murphy said, including the relative ease of replacing a firing pin.
"But we wouldn't be against it," he said. "It's interesting technology."
Michael Mordaga, chief of detectives for the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office, has deeper reservations.
"Would it be enough to say in court that the bullet casings automatically link someone to a crime?" he said. "I'm all for doing anything you can to make criminal investigations smoother, though I can understand some of the arguments against it."
Developed in the 1990s by New Hampshire inventor Todd Lizotte, microstamping was initially used in the medical and computer technology fields to sculpt and etch minute hardware. Microstamping firearms became attractive to gun control advocates around late 2002, when a series of Beltway sniper attacks in Maryland and Washington, D.C. confounded authorities.
"I think the sense was: They could find all this forensic evidence, but why couldn't they identify the gun it came from?" said Joshua Horwitz, executive director of the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, which has teamed with the Brady Campaign to champion microstamping.
Current technology requires forensic scientists to analyze a fired bullet or casing's unique markings -- or ballistics fingerprints -- to link it with a firearm. Much like human fingerprints, the ballistic markings are entered into a national database to be matched with a gun.
Advocates say microstamping handguns would simplify the process: The information on fired shell casings would immediately match guns on existing databases.
New Jersey, considered to have some of the strictest gun laws in the country, is one of the few states that require buyers to obtain a license from law enforcement before purchasing firearms.
"If it goes according to plan, this would work well and make our jobs easier," said Bergen County Sheriff Leo McGuire, whose office has one of the busiest ballistics laboratories in the state.
Microstamping would be particularly advantageous in crimes when the bullet or shell casing is too fragmented, McGuire said.
A large number of gun crimes are committed with stolen guns, which can often lead police "on the wrong path," said Larry Pratt, executive director of the Gun Owners of America. Yet, with microstamping, he said, "at least detectives have a path to follow."
"Any information is better than none," Murphy said. "Is it going to work every single time? I doubt it. But even if it works once, it's worth it."
Copyright © 2006 North Jersey Media Group Inc.
Copyright Infringement Notice User Agreement & Privacy Policy
Print | Close
